2008 Woodie Awards
The Massachusetts State Police bomb squad determined that a suspected explosive device found in Herter Hall this morning was not a threat. "Everything is fine and safe on campus," University of Massachusetts spokesman Ed Blaguszewski said in a press conference shortly after 9 a.
Well before the scheduled start time of 7 p.m., students were already lining the steps of Stockbridge Hall to see the self-styled unembedded journalist Dahr Jamail. The event promised an up-close and personal perspective for any and all the lingering questions on Iraq by a man who has witnessed it firsthand.
Dr. Ken Conca presented "Understanding the Global Water Crisis" at the University of Massaschusetts Monday as the second lecture in The Environmental Institute's Water Sustainability Lecture Series. "Even if [you don't think of it] in wet Western Massachusetts, the reliability of clean, usable water is an issue in many, particularly poorer, parts of the world and everyone should learn about it," said Conca.
The University of Massachusetts has been declared safe after a suspected explosive device was found in Herter Hall early this morning. A custodian found the device at 5:20 a.m., and police cordoned off the surrounding area. Classes were delayed until 11 a.m. On-campus students were advised to remain in or nearby their residence halls, and faculty, staff and commuting students were advised not to come to campus until at least 11 a.m. W.E.B. DuBois library was also evacuated and closed. The University lifted the campus security alert after 9 a.m. and announced on its Web site that classes will continue following a normal schedule, starting at 11 a.m. An ongoing investigation is being conducted.
The Amherst Police Department started two new initiatives this week to increase safety for women and children. The police department started a class about car-seat installations to raise the awareness of the safety benefits of car seats. The APD inspects car seats to ensure the child's safety and correctly install car seats.
Student senators voted to increase the student activity fee by $3.25 per semester starting next fall following two rounds of debate last night. "There needs to be a fee increase or else all [Registered Student Organizations] will have to get a dramatic cut to their budget," said Yannick Brookes, chair of the Ways and Means Committee.
With UMass currently in the middle of midterms, students are working harder than ever. They spend countless hours listening to professors, reading and re-reading textbooks and typing page after page for that report due in four hours, all the while telling themselves it will pay off when they get that thing they've been slaving so hard for: a diploma.
In September 2006, Mara Seidel, the Jewish Campus Service Corps Fellow at Hillel House, decided to sell extra loaves of Challah bread that were left over from a Jewish Women's Collective night. Seidel said she read about a group in California selling Challah for Hunger and decided to edit that idea for the University of Massachusetts campus.
Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, discussed the United States' counter-terrorism efforts, specifically aspects of torture, during his talk, titled "Why the Current Approach to Fighting Terrorism is Making us Less Safe" in the Pruyne Lecture Hall of Amherst College.
This summer, police arrived at the door of an Amherst resident. They entered the house and found a senior citizen who had fallen and was immobile, but alive. The police had arrived without a distress call to a dispatcher. The citizen had missed a call from the Amherst Police Department's RUOK Program.